2014/08/27 by Duane W. Hamacher, Hamacher, Duane W.
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Archaeology and ancient environmental studies #Australian Indigenous Culture and History #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies #Popular Physics (physics.pop-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1408.6368
openalex publication_date 2014/08/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Descriptions of natural events, such as fireballs and meteorite impacts, are\nfound within Indigenous Australian oral traditions. Studies of oral traditions\ndemonstrate that they extend beyond the realm of myth and legend; they contain\nstructured knowledge about the natural world (science) as well as historic\naccounts of natural events and geo-hazards. These traditions could lead to the\ndiscovery of meteorites and impact sites previously unknown to Western science.\nIn addition to benefiting the scientific study of meteoritics, this study can\nhelp social scientists better understand the nature and longevity of oral\ntraditions and further support the growing body of evidence that oral\ntraditions contain historical accounts of natural events. In a previous study\nled by the author in 2009, no meteorite-related oral traditions were identified\nthat led to the discovery of meteorites and/or impact craters. This paper\nchallenges those initial findings.\n